With thousands of teenagers across the UK living with asthma, a new approach is needed. That’s why a research team at the University of Southampton – with funding from Asthma + Lung UK – is trialling a self-management questionnaire which young people fill out before their medical appointments to highlight the specific support they need. And, crucially, the team will measure the impact of this approach on real-world quality of life.
Empowering young people
The key benefit of this questionnaire is instilling a sense of confidence in young people and helping them speak up about they need, whatever that support might look like. “We want young people to feel confident when talking about how they experience asthma”, explains Dr Anna Rattu at the University of Southampton, who specialises in the management of asthma in children and adolescents. “That could be with their parents, their teachers or their doctor.”
How did the project start?
The self-management questionnaire builds on Dr Rattu and her supervisor, Prof. Graham Roberts’, previous work exploring and understanding the needs of young people with asthma.
Back in 2018, the team at the University of Southampton involved over 200 young people with asthma through interviews and surveys to ensure a wide range of voices and experiences were taken into account as the questionnaire was first developed.
“By talking to a range of young people, it meant that we were able to capture the experiences of teenagers across all types of backgrounds – which is so important”, explains Dr. Rattu. “Their answers tell us how we can best talk to young people, and what they might be going through.”
“Asthma can be a complicated, personal experience. That’s why we want young people to be able to speak up and advocate for themselves.”
Testing the questionnaire
Since then, Dr Rattu and her team have been testing this questionnaire in clinic consultations, to help young people better understand, manage and talk about their condition.
“When you talk to teenagers about their condition, you see that it’s never ‘just’ asthma. That notion can be a barrier to young people speaking up about their experience, when we know asthma is so personal and so complicated”, says Dr Rattu. “That’s why it’s essential that we reshape the narrative.”
“We hope this self-management questionnaire will help to achieve that change – and helps young people to advocate for themselves and get support that’s tailored exactly to them.”
After the patient has filled in the questionnaire online, doctors will be able to use their answers to better inform their consultations.
“If you have an issue with say, inhaler technique, you should never feel like you can’t discuss that at a doctor’s appointment”, explains Dr Rattu. “Even if you find it difficult to talk about.”
“If a teenager has filled out the questionnaire and let their doctor know this is an area that they’d like help with, their appointment is going to be so much more useful to them. That can really make a difference for both their confidence and how equipped they feel to manage their asthma.”
Right now, the use of the questionnaire is being tested in a group of teenagers over a span of three months to measure its impact on what really matters - their real-world quality of life.
“Those fifteen minutes are precious.”
This questionnaire has the potential to facilitate open conversations between healthcare professionals and teenage patients – making asthma care more collaborative and personal.
“Those fifteen minutes with a clinician are precious”, explains Dr Rattu. “And we want to make sure young people are able to make the most of that time – talking confidently and clearly about how asthma is affecting their lives. Ultimately, we want young people to live well with their asthma.”
You’re powering life-changing research
Funding research like this is critical to make a real difference to people’s lives. It could help improve quality of life for children and teenagers with asthma and even prevent deaths in young people.
By supporting Asthma + Lung UK, you’re helping to make more life-changing projects like this possible.
You may also like
Connect to Innovate 2022: Driving innovation in respiratory health
Addressing asthma self-management: why we need a new approach
